Bulgogi – that much venerated staple of Korean eating – where the combination of soy and sugar, pear and garlic creates a sensation like you were really there – like you were a part of the Korean culture.

불고기!

Imagine a street near a bridge as an etching against a pale grey sky, a travelers inn, darkened room, table near window. Rain. Bamboo wall and big leafed long stemmed bright green plant for privacy. You feel like the only one – and for a moment…

There is a recipe for bulgogi here – points to elsewhere on this same site – hopefully the address won’t explode, or the redirection loop police arrest me!

There’s no recipe on my site for making kimchi – the next well favoured ingredient – quite yet!

But I came across a version from the much respected teacher Heather Jeong – and I’ll post that next. My version of kimchi includes one of Australia’s cultural icons – Vegemite. Kimchi and Vegemit lovers of the world – united!

The third element is gozleme – my attempted Hangul version –고즐래매– spelled like it sounds. Here is the dough – made from scratch – not a quick process!

Mixing, kneading, proofing overnight. Even added some roasted sesame seeds for a bit of extra crunch. The kids got to use the rolling pin for the first time. There’s Maddy – her sleeves rolled up, ‘kerchief in her hair, flour all over her hands. I asked how she was going. Crinkled her little nose, gave me that certain sideways look –

“Is this how you do it, daddy?”

We flattened, and flattened, I sliced the dough up into oblongs (Only daddy can use the knife) Painted on a bit of sesame oil – has a nice orange hue – right then Dylan, our ever hungry 3 year old pipes up

Using an electric mixer – or dough hook – or similar – mix in the water – a little at a time. The more electrical the device you use, the less work you knead to do! Ha!

Place in a bowl, “wrapped in plastic” – and let the dough rise. Once the dough has doubled in size it’s ready for the next step.

Deflate the dough by punching it– then flatten and flatten again with a rolling pin until as thin as thick cardboard. Cut in 15 cm squares. Paint one side with sesame oil.

Bulgogi-Kimchi Mixture

3 parts Bulgogi Meat – cooked

1 part Kimchi – chopped

1 part Mozarella cheese- grated

Extra soya sauce, extra sugar

Combine these in a frying pan. Heat the mixture through, until the cheese isn’t quite melted. Kimchi is great – but when you combine it with – rice, calamari, meat – and heat it up – there’s salty crunch, warming chili – the experience comes alive!

Place one tbs of this bulgogi mixture on one half of one square.

Fold the gozleme in half, covering the mixture. Paint canola oil all over the outside of the bread.

In a frying pan cook the gozleme on both sides till golden brown. Be careful not to burn them. No little accidents!

Sprinkle more sesame seeds, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon and you have –

A family favourite at Christmas, rice custard (sometimes called chunky custard) was a popular dish at the end of the day.

Here I’m cooking with – “famous in Korea” 막컬리 or rice wine .

Rice custard is sometimes flavoured with cognac (Courvoisier for example)

So I went searching for “rice wine brandy”.

I get most of my Korean stuff at Go Mart in North Strathfield. I think the assistant was quite helpful – and I think she understood my idea.

“Rice wine custard? That makes sense.”
“But is there such a thing as rice wine brandy? Rice wine liquer?”
“I think it’s Soju you want”
So I guess you could flavour the rice wine rice custard with Soju. Now that would be an interesting!

Before I knew this cuisine, I had only ever used sesame oil by the teaspoon, a means of adding slight pungency to a Malaysian saté or Indian curry.

In Korea, sesame oil is used more like a soya sauce or vinegar, adding a good amount to cover the meat, more than I’ve used before.

At our shop we have three Korean pharmacy students – much respected for their ability to understand both Korean and English. I am constantly reminded of the limitations of my Korean, and each day marvel at these students’ command of English.
So – in that spirit – I asked one of the students 용인 to translate the Hangul on the side of a 1L jerry can of Sesame Oil (pictured) – to find out exactly what makes the preferred Korean brand so unique.

Sesame oil in a 1L jerry can.
Jerry was the name the Germans used for British soldiers in WW2 – they always carried these handy square metal cans.

Beksul – since 1953

1. It tastes aromatic because we use 100% sesame oil.

2. We use the rapid freezer method which is applied by special permission– so the aromatic taste is fresh.

3. We cleanse the sesame seeds with pure water, roast them and squeeze them
to create a certain aromatic taste. That’s why it tastes so good.

In a heated frying pan add 1 tbsp butter and ½ tbsp oil, taking care not to burn the butter. Add 2 slices of bread and gently toast both sides of the bread over medium heat. Remove from heat and repeat with the rest of the bread slices, 1 tbsp butter and ½ tbsp oil. Set aside 4 slices of toast. Wipe off oil from frying pan.

Combine eggs with carrots, onion, 1 tbsp cabbage, salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat the same frying pan to medium heat and add 1 tbsp oil. Pour egg mixture into the pan and spread the mixture out into a round shape. Turn the heat to low and gently cook the eggs into omelette consistency, tucking the ends in to make a square shape omelette. Flip the omelette over to cook the other side. (Making egg omelette should take about 2-3 minutes over a gentle heat). Set aside omelette. Divide omelette into two portions.

Return 2 slices of toasted bread to the same heated pan, and over a low heat add 1 slices(sic) of cheese, 1 slice of ham, 1 portion omelette, 1 tbsp cabbage, ½ tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tsp mayonnaise, ¼ tsp sugar to each slice of bread. Top the toast with the remaining bread and flip over to gently heat the other side. (filling the sandwich over a gentle heat should take about 1 minute). Remove toasted egg sandwiches from the pan and cut toasts in half diagonally.

I tried this recipe over the weekend, although I used chicken loaf instead of ham, and cauliflower instead of cabbage. The sandwiches still proved a hit with my 7 year old, and probably would have with my 3 year old but he was too excited with seeing his cousin.

A particularly indulgent version of Gaerun toast might involve crispy bacon, instead of ham, Gruyere cheese instead of plastic sliced cheese, and for the ultimate indulgence – blue cheese sauce as well as the tomato sauce and the mayonnaise.

Hyun-jung looked on with horror. She straight away thought of the horrors she’d seen in her life remembered that day those army men had come to her village, when she was “back home”.

“Passed through”? – hardly! It was more like bullying, heckling, intimidating whoever they could, whenever they could.

The North Korean army doing North Korean things. Because power over another human being makes a person so strange things. They were looking for somethin – she remembered fearing for her mother, her father. And then thought of her older sister.

Sun-hwa. Sun-hwa? Sun-hwa!

What did they want with her.

Hyun was only 9 at the time, but she remembered.

She thought she saw her sister near the rice storage hut, just at the village entrance. She called out to her sister – those soldiers, those men – what were they doing? They seemed to be smiling, like great apes. One of them walked towards her, he was pulling up his belt with one hand, using the other to block her view…Sun-hwa!

“It’s alright, I’m alright” she remembered her sister yelling… And screaming “Find mum and dad – go to the school!”

And then – those army men with their helmets and guns, heavy eyebrows and loud voices were gone…

“What is it wop?” Don’t look like no sandwich I’ve ever seen –

He held her food out for display, like it was infected.

“Yuck, there’s omelette in here. What is this, Chink?” the bully demanded.

“I’m Korean” responded Hyun-jung, meekly.

“What did you say, you slope eyed freak”

And he stood over her, pushed his head out, waved his finger in her face

“I’m Korean – not Chinese” she said, gently.

He thrust the sandwich toward her face – held her in a moment of intimidation and fear. And then suddenly, callously he flung it over the long school benches. She flinched. It was the reaction this bastard wanted.

Hyun-jung just wanted to cry. Maybe a tear or two trickled out.

But she didn’t want the school bully – getting the better of her.

“Why did you do that?” she asked, remembering her in breakable spirit as a Korean.

“Because I can – and what are you going to do about it wop?” – he said – threateningly.

Hyun-jung couldn’t remember exactly what happened next.

She just remembered the bully sprawled on the ground next to her crying – and all the kids running over – faces filled with elation.

“H – what did you do?”

And

“What happened here?”

And

“Where did you learn to kick someone in the head like that?”

The bully never took her lunch – or tried to intimidate her or make fun of her “omelette in a sandwich” again.

And Hyun-jung was never, ever embarrassed by what her mum put in her lunch box.

(Inspired by 동치미 Water Kimchi – Recipe by 선생님 Heather Jeong at the end.)

Radish Water Kimchi is another of the amazing tastes among the many offered by Korean cuisine.
This favorite of Northern Korea is a refreshing drink – and would serve well as an aperitif – a small drink to stimulate the taste buds before the meal.

Dong Chi Mi might be described as “small salty drink” – the vegetables used in the making – radish, onion, ginger – impart a slightly sweet snap that makes the experience less like drinking “sea water”.

The use of apple or pear is key to enhancing this sweet snap.

K-food combines the tastes of sweet and salty. The idea of “salted caramels” is not new, even in western cooking. (see under McDonalds caramel Sundae)

The twist in my recipe involves using a sliver of dried radish as the center of the candy.

You Will Need

Radish say about as big as your fist.
Salt enough for sprinkling – and a bit more for drying.
Sugar – 500g – brown is best
60g unsalted butter

300mL heavy cream

Chop the radish into sliver size squares
Throw a generous amount of salt over the radish.

Leave in a well drained container overnight in the fridge.

This will dry out the radish

Caramel

Melt butter in medium frying pan over a low heat .

Slowly add sugar, letting the heat dissolve the crystals.

***Heat the mixture to above 160 degrees centigrade.****

This is important for the setting of the candies!
Gradually stir in the cream

Place a single dried radish square in each section of an ice cube tray or similar.
Pour caramel into tray – like you were making ice.
Let set in fridge.

Push candies out of tray.

Wrap in wax paper or similar.

Twist and distribute!

동치미 (Radish Water Kimchi)

Ingredients

1 Large Korean Moo (radish), peeled and cut into blocks

Half Cup coarse grain sea salt

5 cloves garlic, sliced

2 cm ginger

2 salt pickled green chilli

1 Korean pear or apple, peeled and quartered

2 green onion, white part only

1 onion, peeled

2 ½ L filtered water

Method

In a large good quality Tupperware (container), place ¼ cup of salt. Add in Korean radish and roll it in the salt. Leave the radish in the salt for at least two hours.

Add the rest of the ingredients and gently toss. Leave for about 20 minutes. Add rest of the salt to the lukewarm water. Leave to cool. Pour over the radish and the other ingredients. Water should tatse slightly salty. Add more salt if necessaary.

Cover Tupperware (container) with a lid and leave to ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days. Place 동치미 in the fridge thereafter.

Probably not great eating – in terms of flavour – although some outspoken girl squirrel may disagree.

“It’s what I like to eat, it’s not nothing. Is a delicious nibble. ” her little voice might squeak – probably in Korean, if I let my wild squirrel imaginings scamper out of control. Anyway…

If you grind those nuts up, mix with water – and heat and stir for one half hour – you “break the peptide” – the protein chains holding the water making thicker and thicker “goo” – let it set overnight – and you have firm yet wobbly dark brown jelly, ready to shape any way you please. (Again, see photo)

Enticing Chunks Of Goodness

Today’s lesson bought to us by our respected teacher Heather Jeong – might be called “Korean food in a vegetarian style”. (see header)

One recipe is “Acorn Jelly Salad” – Dotori mook muchim.

Involves another unfamiliar ingredient – chrysanthemum leaves.

“Probably taste a bit flowery” I quip, slightly repulsed by the thought of the acrid taste of plants that bear flowers.

“Remove the stems” 선생님 (much respected) H. Jeong advises,

“This is how you eat Chrysanthemum” she struggles to say – is a difficult – 힘든 – word at the best of times. (no disrespect to teacher)

선생님 (respected teacher) holds up the variegated leaves, split in three, and folds them back – and in three again and so on.

In Korea we call it 국화 (kuyk hwa)

Flowers just as pretty but easier to pronounce.

“This taste like celery” C1 insists.

And C2 sitting next to her agrees. “It does taste like celery!”

For mine it tasted like Chrysanthemum.

I’m not convinced – it’s not as sharp as I thought.

“I’m not convinced” I say out loud.

Not as sharp as celery leaf at least.

“It tastes like grass” C1 asserts.

We three pause to look at each other – and wonder how C1 knows what grass tastes like.

This recipe is based on a recipe I learnt from my mother, which she learnt from her mother. Corned beef is a wonderful taste memory from my childhood. The meat tastes better and better as it ages – although it rarely lasts very long!

Traditionally, corn beef is served with a white sauce based on flour, butter, milk and pepper. Adds a bit of zing to the corned beef.

Here I’ve created a bright and deep orange colored sauce – not at all traditional. But a sauce that captures the warm nutty delicious flavor of 참기름 with a combination of sweetness from 막걸리 and saltiness that is typical of Korean cuisine. Combine this with the two mainstays of Korean food – 고추장 & 고추가루 – and you have a taste that goes nicely with corned beef.

Steve’s Sesame Sauce

50mL Garlic sesame oil (make this by placing 6 cloves of garlic in 50mL sesame oil and allow it to stand for 4-5 days on a window sill for sunlight)

150mL anchovy stock

3 tbsp 고추장

1/2 tsp 고추가루

3 tbsp 막걸리 (more to taste)

Generous splash orange juice.

2 Cloves marinated garlic

2 tsp potato starch (to thicken)

Salt to taste

1. Combine the garlic sesame oil, anchovy stock, 거추강, 거추가루,

2. Using a blender create a sesame oil sauce of bright orange (color is breathtaking!)